Breaking China

Commissioned by Irish National broadcaster RTE this is a Crossing The Line production, which Mandarin Film provided all production support on. Included in the production services Mandarin Film was able to offer were, helping Des enroll in Renmin University, securing all filming permissions, assisting with fixing, production, crew hiring, equipment sourcing and post work including transcription and translation. Mandarin Film even helped Des get onto a number of nationally broadcasted popular TV shows. Aired in Spring 2014, Breaking China has been a great ratings success for RTE with a whopping 15-20% of total audience share throughout the series.

In Breaking China, Irish-American writer and comedian Des Bishop moves to China for a year in order to learn Mandarin and eventually attempts to perform a one-man stand up comedy show for a Chinese audience.

There are number of obstacles though - the locals are unaware of the subtleties of western style comedy and are laughing for all the wrong reasons. Is Des' attempt to explore comedy in a foreign country and a strange culture a task too far?

Part reality, part travel, part humour, Des' new Chinese project will follow his move to Beijing, his fumbling first steps in Mandarin, his adventures with the local kids. His Chinese host family will encompass the quirks of an intriguing nation that is changing at a blistering pace.

Over the six episodes Des will go to Chinese university, share everyday life with the family and explore the wider China beyond. He plans to set up his own comedy club in a Beijing city venue and with luck build a loyal following and a successful business. By journey's end he even hopes to make his name on Chinese television which attracts the largest audiences on the planet.